Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song

If you want to see a film that strays about as far from classical Hollywood cinema as possible, check out Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song. Though extremely excessive in style, disjointed in editing, and somewhat pornographic in content, Sweet Sweetback’s importance lies in its representation of views normally disenfranchised and denied a voice. It is refreshing to see a film that openly and honestly critiques the brutal abuse of power by a predominantly white police force. Representations of race relations on film, especially at the time of this film, existed as a repetitive proliferation and perpetuation of a commonly held us versus them, good versus bad, white versus black mentality. This film and others historically labeled as “Blaxploitation” films do not avoid portraying the controversial voices of controversially oppressed populations while heavily critiquing the power dynamics of U.S. society.

Plot-wise, Sweet Sweetback is full of blunders and nonsensical happenings. Everything that unfolds does so without much reason or at least without much explanation (for example, Sweetback fills a gunshot wound in his abdomen with a mixture of sand and urine and the wound is healed quickly). The viewer is able to make just enough connections between extensively long scenes and illogical dialogue to create some sort of linear story, though even this can be difficult at times. Jump cut after jump cut certainly doesn’t help, although in the film’s defense, perhaps these can be understood in ways similar to the French New Wave (…unlikely?). Regardless, the value of Sweet Sweetback lies mostly in its excessive representations and its challenging of power dynamics.